Thursday, October 13, 2011

To call or not to call.

Do you live and die by your Smart Phone? If you own a Blackberry like me, you may have been affected by the world wide outage that started to occur on Monday. Take a look at the video and the article and give me your thoughts on how we rely on daily technology and how we feel when it doesn't work.
Pay particular attention to the comments about Blackberry vs. Droid and Iphone.

73 comments:

  1. I am a Blacberry owner and have been for about 3 years now. I am extremely attached to my phone. I feel that many people around the world view their phones as a main stay in their social lives. They connect us to work, social media, as well as our family and friends. I was slightly affected by the outage, which caused me to consider switching over to the Iphone. I am all for team Blackberry however a Droid or Iphone are in my near future.

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  2. Well Stinks for blackberry owners. Nut unfortunately technology does come with a price. Yes we cannot live with out it I understand that but also most of us have laptops, desktop computers, or ipods that can do everything we need them to do. The smart phone is just another work distraction that comes about when you aren't working. there are other ways to communicate other than email and texting. People should try them sometime. Maybe getting your thumbs off the keyboard will open your eyes to something new.

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  3. I was not affected by the blackberry outage, I don't even own a smartphone! I don't think it was that big of a deal because we have so much other technology to rely on, that for many people their phone is not the only option to stay in contact with others or use the internet. I think people rely too much on their phones to get them through the day. Sometimes I think we should put down the phone and have a conversation with the person face to face, instead of text to text.

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  4. I was affected by the outage and I felt lost without it. I would bbm my family members and friends and they wouldn't get my messages. I rely heavily on the texting, bbm and email features of my blackberry to communicate with my boss back at home and my extended family while at school. I do feel that we should sometimes call people rather than send an impersonal email or talk to people face to face. However many places, including our school, are using social media to connect with us so it's hard to put the phone down.

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  5. i have a blackberry and it is indeed my crackberry, sometimes i feel like it never leaves my hand. On tuesday i was unable to us BBM and the internet but by simply take out the battery and reloading it make it work again. Yes i feel that once smartphones and social media has become popular that actual social interactions have been affected but hey thats our generation.

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  6. Interestingly enough, I was just thinking this morning how life would be very difficult without a cell phone. I have, on more than one occasion, had the urge to get rid of my phone altogether, but that would be extremely impractical because of our society's expectations (such as work contact, etc) I agree with DanaReale, however, that there are plenty of other resources out there, albeit less convenient. From a business stand point, this illustrates that the blackberry is becoming increasingly obsolete. Unless it makes some serious improvements, it will not be able to keep up with the current market standards.

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  7. I am a blackberry owner, but hopefully soon to be an iPhone owner. I was definitely effected by the outage even though it effected my phone for a day. It was frustrating because I felt like I was cut off from the world . BBM was not working, and even by resetting my phone and popping out the battery, I still couldn't get it to work. I rely on my phone for almost everything, especially since I'm always on the go, and am constantly busy at school and it is my only way of communication. By having a smartphone, it makes my life so much easier, having all of my technology, including texting, calling, email, music and internet in a handheld device that never leaves my side.

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  8. Although I do not own a blackberry, like anybody else I also get frustrated when technology does not work. I recently bought a Droid in January. Although it has had its minor problems, I love the phone. I would be lost without texting my family and friends. Before getting a smartphone, I had no issues with not having emails, internet, facebook, etc. constantly available on the go. Although I am not one to constantly use my phone for emailing, social networks, or media, I love that I have the convenience to look something up on the internet when a topic comes up in question during a conversation. For me, it is not so much that I completely rely on my smartphone; I look at it as more of a great convenience. However, take my texting away, I would feel lost. I do feel that many of us rely too heavily on daily technology, and although this is the generation we live in, what will this turn into in the future?

    -Tammy Saunders

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  9. Smartphones are becoming a "necessity" in this current day and age. If it doesn't have the capability of looking something up on the internet or being able to play the latest game, it is not currently wanted by the majority. I currently own an iPhone and use it for everything. We rely so much on our smartphones, that when something goes wrong with them like what happened to the blackberry users, people go crazy and don't know what to do with themselves.

    - Michael Bianco

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  10. I am an ex blackberry user but converted to the droid and would not go back. I recently did not have a phone for two weeks due to an unfortunate rainy day and it was hard to communicate with people. We do rely on our smart devices for every form of contact and to keep our selves updated in every day life. This is probably because it keeps everything at our fingertips. The internet, games, communication though text, fb, twitter, calling, email etc. This does become a problem when something goes wrong because now its not as easy. We have to actually locate other resourses which takes up time and time is precious when living in a fast pace society.

    -Sherrell Kennedy

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  11. I am not a current owner of a blackberry. However I do know that the balckberry can take control over you. The blackberry has made our life easier and faster. People can get their emails sent right to their phone as well as exploret the internet when they need important information. I feel that the loss of contact between blackberrys would be crucial to our society. Business owners and us their blackberry to contact other workers from outside of the office. Now we need to find alternative ways to contact employees and explore the internet. which may be hard considering your location.
    Tracie Bourque

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  12. I used to have a blackberry and recently replaced it with the new iPhone and I cant say that I miss it. People have become extremely dependent on their phones and tend to become lost when something goes wrong with them. Its the main way we communicate now, mostly through text and email, and if we don't have that instant connection to people we start to feel really out of the loop.

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  13. I personally don't own a blackberry, iphone, or droid, but I can understand why people who do have one were upset. Modern technology has become so advanced and accessible that people rely too much on instant gratification. Although having access to the web 24/7 and cool applications on your iphone may seem convenient, I think it has made society grow too dependent on what technology can offer instead of their own abilities. Just like foods with high sugar or fat content, technology should be appreciated and used in moderation. It's not too bad to rely on your phone if you learn to balance yourself and understand that there are possibilities of it failing on you. Just goes to show that it never hurts to go back to the basics... like making phone calls instead of texting...

    -Michelle Chen

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  14. I do own a blackberry and have owned one for about a year now. I was not affected by the outage, but a few of my friends were affected by it and were flipping about it. We do rely more on technology because this generation was brought up with computers. At a young age we were learning how to use a computer, and using the computer to write up papers and such. I believe that we do rely on it for a lot of things but not necessarily a bad thing, with having phones we have contact for the most part with friends, family, and other people. The future is changing more and more everyday with new technology and we must to adapt to it. I believe this outage was not as bad as it could have been and what is wrong with maybe calling someone instead of messaging them. By texting we lose communication skills more and more and are afraid to call someone because we are so use to just texting them.
    Christina Andrade

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  15. I used to have a blackberry, and every time a new one came out I got it. I now have an iPhone. Technology is updated almost everyday. I had so many problems with my blackberry, and as for the outage, I dont understand how people want to keep their blackberry's when they are always having so many problems. Smart phones have become an addiction to many people all over the world. I know for a fact that I cant be away from my phone for more than an hour. It is my communication with my family and friends, my email, and facebook.I feel that it is an addiction, and will not change, and if it does, its only because something else was invented that has become the new addiction.
    Julianne Mirabella

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  16. I do not own a smartphone so maybe I cannot relate as well as others to this problem,but I think it is a little ridiculous that people are having such meltdowns over the loss of their smartphone. I am told my phone is no good all the time because I cannot check my email or go on facebook with it, but that is why I have a computer. When outages like this occur, people need to realize there are other forms of communication, such as the computer.Obviously, smartphones are a very convenient piece of technology, but people can not be so dependent on them. It should be a priviledge, but people expect them to be there whenever they need it, but after this outage we see that they are not always going to be there.
    -Ayla Walter

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  17. This unfortunately doesn't surprise me. People are so addicted to the speed and convenience of their phones they don't know how to function without them. When they mentioned that BlackBerry is trying to keep up with smart phones and is down 60%, it just reinforced how competitive the phone industry is. I mean there's always commercials for Verizon vs. AT&T. Largely, they're all great companies, it just comes down to sometimes location, but mostly preference. I didn't think I'd see this so soon, but maybe BlackBerry's shine is ready to fade out. As always, people are ready for the next big thing.

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  18. I proudly own a basic hand phone, no camera with a vintage telephone desk ringtone. Instant messaging and making phone calls is effortless. After digesting the article and video, I still have a rough idea how the outage can have such an impact on a person especially when it occurs for only o n e day. I agree that technology is vital in everyday life as I use my laptop and Ipod to get by.Having a laptop,an ipod,camera,and a phone in one device and an outage occurs, now that's what I call a bad day.

    - Kamal Ariffin.

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  19. I think that people are much to addicted to technology. Personally, I would much rather pick up a phone and call a person than spend an hour texting, trying to get the exact same message across. I understand that some people need the convenience of having email and internet on their phones because it is necessary for their jobs, but as a college student, I do not see the importance for anybody else. I guarantee these people who had blackberries that went out also had computers and other means of communicating as well, they should not have been so upset.

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  20. Fortunately for me I am not a blackberry owner so this issue did not affect me. However I do know many people around me, professors, friends, family members who did get affected by this problem, and I can honestly say that they were very annoyed with the issue. I never received a phone till after high school so I can say that I know that with a regular phone (one that just calls and texts no more) it does make life much more simpler in some aspects however on the contrary it has the ability to make life more difficult. But referring back to the article it is a huge deal to everyone now because of the technology age that we are in, so in some way it impacts us all.

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  21. i do not own a blackberry so luckily i was not affected by this outage but i do own a droid so i understand the frustration that many blackberry owners felt. I do not own a computer so i live off my droid. I do everything from making phone calls to managing my bank account off my smart phone. without it my daily routine would be completely thrown off.
    -krisitne qassom

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  22. While the video was entertaining I do own a blackberry and did experience problems the past week using my BBM (blackberry messenger). We clearly live in a technological world but to think that it was shocking news for people to actually make a phone call is just plain crazy! I will admit I am attached to my phone but I don't think twice to call someone!

    -M DeSalvo

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  23. SEEEE THATS WHY YOU NEED AN I-PHONE!!!! My dads phone stopped working also. Lesson be learned Apple products ARE THE BOMB!!!
    -EMT

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  24. I own a droid currently and I like it. I used to own a blackberry and I had a lot of problems with the service. Between outages and bad reception. In general, I think technology is a great thing and it makes day to day life more productive. It's downfall is that we rely on it way too much and forget the old way of doing things. This could potentially be a huge problem in the future.

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  25. i have never owned a blackberry but this dose help me make up my mind and i am staying with the IPhone
    -Shannon Glazebrook

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  27. I never had a blackberry, never will. I always found them pointless as a phone. I was laughing last week when all of my friends with blackberries was complaining about the outages but I can understand their pain at the same time. Most of us, without our cellphones, we will be lost. I know I will be for sure, especially if I can't text. 95% of the time I will email/text you instead of calling you. With the whole blackberry Vs. Smart phones fight, I will always go with smart phones because I can do so much more than I can do on a blackberry. And I know a lot of people that feel the same way.

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  28. Luckily for me I do not own a Blackberry. Although, I can understand where Blackberry owners are coming from. Now a days, people heavily rely on their phones. Many people prefer texting or shooting someone an e-mail instead of picking up the phone to make a call. Recently, I've been having problems with my Android as far as receiving and sending texts and I can say it has been driving me insane. Unfortunately, no matter what kind of technology is made there will always be malfunctions.

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  29. That stinks for all the blackberry owners. I am an Iphone user. I got to say though we do rely too much on technology these days. When I lost my phone I got to say it was not all that bad. It was kind of a relief to not have to hear my alarm or phone ringing and I could concentrate a bit more. Having a phone, we constantly bring it out when we are in awkward situations and have nothing to do instead of reading a book or being social.

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  30. I used to own a Blackberry, and for that short period of time; I loved it. Blackberry's interface isn't quite as user friendly as iPhone or Droid, but the product delivers the same speed and quality. Despite the rough patch, I think that blackberry devices will remain in the competition. Business men and women love their Blackberrys for staying organized, just like teens love their iPhones for the integrated iPod feature. Perhaps the devices should just be marketed to a different croud.

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  31. It is very unfortunate that this happened to RIM. I was really hoping that they would get more popular and catch up to google and apple. It is also unfortunate that people rely so much on their cell phone during their day to day lives that they are getting so worked up after losing a little bit of service for a couple days.

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  32. I have to agree. i am also an Iphone user, so the blackberry outrage never effected me. but i can understand the outrage. now that our society relies so much on our smartphones, we really don't know how to function without them.

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  33. It is a simple theory, the dehumanization of our society by technology. I do not own a blackberry so i was not effected by the "crisis". But i do find it ridiculous that this was such a big problem since there are plenty of ways to communicate with people.

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  34. I had an android for a short period of time. I really liked it, and it was convenient. Then I didn't have a phone for two months because of water damage. Now I have a regular phone but I see how easy it is to get dependent on technology. We are coming so far, but forgetting where we came from. It is lazy yet convenient to have everything in one place and I wish people weren't behind their phones and computers all of the time and started interacting more and seeing what life is.

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  35. i had a blackberry and hated when the service would fail. blackberry is getting old now that droid and iphone came on the market.

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  36. I had nothing but problems with my black berry tour. From the charger to the service blackberries are the Dell's of the cellular world. Androids are a lot better then black berries.

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  37. I was a blackberry owner until my phone went for a swim over the summer. I am now an iphone owner. I was not effected by this outage, but i do understand why everybody was mad since i did not have my phone for a few days. I definitely rely heavily on todays technology.

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  38. As an owner of a Blackberry, I must admit that the BBM outage did affect me. Although I was not able to send messages through bbm I could still text. It is not just an issue of people becoming too attached to their phones, it also concerns how our society views those without a phone. Having a cell phone means a person is connected, and having a smart phone means that a person is connected even further with the social network. As HannahA and Michael Bianco have stated popularity and functionality in today's mainstream society is very important. Blackberries are slowly becoming obsolete, but if RIM were to improve their Blackberry functions, hardware, and operating systems perhaps it will once again be a popular purchase.

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  39. I am an owner of a blackberry. I found out there was an outage through Twitter. I wasn't completely affected by the outage, but my family overseas were ready to lose their minds. I agree that people rely on their phone, I sure do. All my appointments, meetings, work schedule and alarm are all on my phone. There's nothing wrong with enjoying your device, there's a problem when people can not do everyday functions without their phone because there is an app for it.

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  40. I hate texting but that is all people do anymore. It would be nice to just get a phone call and talk about what they want for 5 minutes rather than text about there issues for about 2 hours. If texting and emailing goes down I am more than happy to pick up my phone and say "Hello..." and talk for a few minutes rather than text for an hour about the same subject.

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  41. I don't own a blackberry, I do however own a Droid. I must admit I am 100% attached to my phone. If the Droid was the phone with the outage I know for a fact I would of had a panic attack. Our phones are a high-tech way to stay intact with this high-speed moving world, without them it's back to stone ages with us, Better known as the 90's. I do believe that we could manage without our high-tech phones for a while but it will definitely be baby steps.

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  42. I agree with the video since I own a blackberry myself. Yes techology has taken over people. Its funny that we have to post a comment because I found out to today that there are more phones than people in the United States. Especially smart phones I am addicted to my crackberry.

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  43. I own a blackberry and I am addicted to mine. However it should not have been a big deal that these phones could not get email. There is so many other ways to get a hold of someone. Like the video said these people could have made a phone call or sent a text.

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  44. I do not own a blackberry but do own an android. my phone is very important to me. it the only way i can communicate with my parent back home since I dont have a home phone. my phone also has been very useful espically when i moved to florida and the battery in my car GPS died and wouldnt charge. my cell phone helped me get around.

    KMalloy

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  45. I do not own a blackberry or even a smartphone. I have just a regular phone so I can make calls, take pictures and text, so this outtage did not affect me. However, I do fully agree that we rely so heavily on this technology it is almost scary. My cell phone and ipod are by my side daily, so i have a constant connection to others through calling and texting, and also internet capabilities of my ipod, so i can understand the frustration of not being able to use such things. For example, while on my internship in France my phone was lost and my laptop charger broke, meaning I literally had no way of connection or contact with my family back home. I felt lost in a way. This of course is an extreme example because I was in another country, but it still shows how we have to rely on technology so heavily.
    I feel though some days we need to put down the phones and actually have face to face human conversation. In a way I feel our social interaction skills have been hindered because we dont have to physically face someone to talk to them.

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  46. I, like everyone else now, am completely hooked on my phone. I Feel like its not simply a craze or that we are becoming more technologically advanced, but an addiction at the very root of our social habits. I wonder what such a habit will do to the way we interact when many of us cant get by without being able to text or check our e-mails. 2500 years ago The Buddha said that things we are attached to cause suffering through our inevitable loss of them. It seems like now a days we are becoming very fast to grow attached to things, and very quick to notice the pain when they are gone. so my question is where does the cycle end?

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  47. I have been a Blackberry user for 5 years now. The blackberry is the best piece of technology that I have, everyday task are made that much easier. The only thing is they haven’t come out with a new model that is better then the ones that already exist. If with the outage my blackberry was not effect.

    Anthony Sitek

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  48. Smart phones have become our access to the world, within our fingertips. So, when this connection fails, we feel as if we also fail. I have an iphone, and honestly I would not know how to react if I was deprived of it. Technology has improved and has known how to keep us hooked. I rely on my iphone more then what I probably should, but having a smartphone is one of the most valuable asset a human can own.

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  49. I do not own a blackberry, but do own a smart phone, a droid. I enjoy getting new apps in order to keep track of things and just improve my daily activities, but do not feel that dependent on my phone itself. I can keep track of emails where ever i am but can read them anytime at my laptop. It just makes my daily life easier and faster. I have a question i google it. It makes things easier but i can survive without my smartphone.

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  50. I am one of the few people i know that Does Not have a smart phone. Yes, i think they are cool and i'm sure they come in handy. however i was raised in a very paper and pen kind of house hold. I am guilty of having a Mac and an I-pod and do find the technology amazing and convenient but i'm afraid human interaction will eventually suffer because of it. I catch myself handing in college paper saying u instead of you and bc instead of because. I am not agents the continued growth of technology but id still rather see some in person instead of face time them.
    Belinda Hines

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  51. I am not really effected by this. I don't own a smart phone and never had. so i dont know what it is like to not have one. This does make me lean to not bothering to get one. The things i use my phone for doesnt require it to be a smart phone. If i need to go on the internet or read my email. I have the patients to wait until i can get to my computer. Also it is an unnecessary expense in my opinion, why buy a product that you already have (IE a computer), yea its convenient to have but if you need it that badly and its not for some kind of business reason then I dont understand why. Im content with my "dumb" phone that just is for texting and calling

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  52. I don't own a Blackberry therefor this never effected me, nor did I know this was going on until I watched this video. I think that people are becoming to rely on technology way to much recently and this is going to effect the next generations. With all of the texting being used people are forgetting how to efficiently communicate with one another. My phone only texts and calls people and that seems to be working fine. My ipod can take photos, access the internet, and much more therefore I don't find the need to purchase a Blackberry or more high-tech phone. However, as each new phone comes out I find myself feeling more behind in the times and will soon give in and buy a "smart" phone.

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  53. As a previous Blackberry owner and a current iPhone owner, I am very aware of how much people are hooked on their Smartphones. I being one of them, would have truthfully been somewhat disheveled if I was not able to check my email on my phone. It is how I see if a teacher emailed me if class was cancelled, or if my mother wanted to send me a photo from work, I am very attached to my email accounts, as well as my other messaging services provided on my smartphones, past and present.
    DRobertson

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  54. I am a ex blackberry owner . I had the Blackberry storm 1 . It was ok phone but i want more out of my phone . I switch to a Droid X . I could not be happier. The app store is bigger than the Blackberry app store .The Droid does more things Than the Blackberry . If My technology stop working it would be no big deal. It can alway be replace . I also think I can go a little bit of time with out technology .

    R.Shelton

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  55. I am an iPhone owner, and I rely on my smartphone a lot nowadays because now we can do almost anything with our smartphones since the technology is getting better and better. However, I miss the old days, so even if I faced this situation I might be frustrated for a day or few days, but then I'll get used to it and might have some break without technology that could bring my healthier life style.

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  56. I have never owned a Blackberry but I do own a Droid. I love the fact that i can get an answer to anything right in the palm of my hand. But, I do agree that our generation relies heavily on our smart phones working properly to stay connected. If i faced a situation that blackberry users did i think i would survive, as long as i was still able to make phone calls.

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  57. I have never owned a smartphoe nor have I ever had a great interest in getting a smartphone. I just have my plain old cell Phone and my iPod. I use my phone to contact others and I use my iPod to check my email, play games and use for quick references. I agreethat some of our society is beig taken over by technology. Today my professor had stated that it's necessary for people to have at least three emails. Three! Sounds like he needs to step back from the technology just a little bit

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  58. Why is it so difficult to pick up the phone and call? We know that everybody is connected everyday, to everything; facebook, e-mails, and every other internet communication site. How much can you really text message? How much more communication do you need? Today we feel the need to communicate every single aspect of our daily lives without any regard for privacy. Who cares if you cannot text message or e-mail for a couple days this shouldn't even be a question. I know I do not care. If there's something so important I need to say I call the person. Isn't this a more efficient and personal way to communicate? I feel text messages and e-mails are very impersonal and open to many interpretations. A phone call is more precise and to the point.

    MC

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  59. Wow, this was pretty ridiculous. I had no idea this was going on, probably because I have never owned a blackberry "crackberry" thing. It amazes me how attached to their phones people are now-a-days, checking their facebook and emails and million and ten times a day. Although they seem cool and are almost a "social norm" to have, I guess I never had any interest in upgrading my phone.

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  60. Nikki Schaefer

    I had no idea that blackberry's were on the fritz. Probably because I am a droid user. I have had my droid for 15 months now and it never leaves my side. I went one weekend without my phone a month ago when it broke and it was probably the longest weekend of my life. I felt like I had no connection to the outside world. I was slowing going crazy. What shocked me about the video is that people complained about having to calls others to talk to them. Call me crazy but if I want to get a hold of friends and family I would rather call them then shoot them a text or email.

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  61. I have never owned a blackberry but I have an android phone and I love it. I have to admit I am addicted to my phone and I know I'm not the only one. Technology has become a huge part of our lives. Not only are most people addicted to texting on their phones, but they are also addicted to social networks. Smartphones make it so easy for us to get our "fix" because they have apps for Facebook, Twitter, etc. Now that I have an android phone I check my Facebook an excessive amount of times a day just because I can. I also know if my phone ever stopped working I would feel extremely lost without it. I agree with this video because it is very true. Society has become so addicted to technology that people are "stuck" in cyber world. When their phone breaks it feels like the end of the world because they are forced back to reality and can't rely on the technology of a smartphone to get them through daily life.

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  62. I am a smart phone user and i haven't had any problem like a blackberry would. A lot of my friends who own a blackberry only say BBM is the best thing they offer. When the outage affected them they all were very upset and in a bad mood. That shows how badly technology affects them and how they go about their lives everyday relying on a device. I personally have no problem leaving my phone home or can go without it for a couple of days, but most will die if there more than 20min away. But a better option the smart phones have is the apps and pretty soon blackberrys will have just as much if not more.

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  63. I don't have both blackberry and i-phone. I just have old cell phone. However, by using i-phone which is my friends phone, I felt amazing technology. So, I'm waiting now i-phone 4gs. I'm going to buy it. Nowadays, smart phone changed many things. we can use internet, map, and game by using i-phone. It could bring my healthier life style.

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  64. I don't own a smart phone but use my boyfriends droid all the time and can't wait to get my own. Compared to my friends phone she always has problems with her blackberry and is looking to switch herself.

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  65. technology is so important in the society that we live in today. people are relying on technology to contact people, get places, information, etc. i have a smartphone and i absolutely adore it. i once broke my phone, so i was incapable of calling or texting. my phone was useless and i had to put that much more effort to visit friends contact people in person, etc. i even had to wait to use my laptop to go onto the internet. blackberry was a huge hit, i believe that they will come up with something else to catch up to the droid and i-phone.

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  66. I was actually stunned to find out about the Blackberry outage, because I wasn't affected at all. I have a Blackberry Tour, and I can't stand it. I'm a Mac, so a Windows phone or an Android phone wouldn't do it for me either. I am incredibly excited to be getting an iPhone within the next week.

    That being said, as much as I love my smartphone for it's ability to access my email, Facebook, twitter, tumblr, online banking, Starbucks, Bertucci's, and Angry Birds, I think our dependence on the new technologies is getting to the point of ridiculousness. People in developed nations, Americans and Western Europeans in particular, have begun to lose the ability to properly and effectively connect with people on an emotional basis. Kids are growing up thinking it's weird to use a phone to make a phone call. My 21st birthday was two weeks ago. I got text messages from my aunts and uncles, my cousins, and my sisters wishing me a happy birthday. Six years ago, I would've gotten phone calls from everyone. As much as I appreciated the birthday love, it's not the same getting a text or an email instead of a call.

    One of my favorite things to do when I'm bored is utilize StumbleUpon. I stumble music, food, photography, and technology the most. I love learning about the next big thing. I also happen to come across a lot of technology blogs, memes, and rage comics. One of my favorites, is this:
    http://bit.ly/q4qN6g. Not only is it highly accurate, but it shows that we really need to take a step back, slow down, and enjoy the little things.

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  67. In our everyday movements we are always on our phones. using the web checking out facebook and other things. But have the old blackberry gone out the door now that we have new phones as the iphone and smart phones. I didn't know that blackberry with having problems with there service. I was a pervious blackberry user and I didn't like the phone at all. I was always having problems like my battery dieing to quick or my back light going off for no reason. I believe if we got rid of the black berry's and all went to iphone there isn't anything we cant do on a normal phone that we cant do on the iphone. I guess there is a real thing called cell phone monopoly. Tim Campbell

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  68. I personally do not own a blackberry, or any smart phone. however i do feel for people that have been effected by the black outs. one of the reasons that i do not own a smart phone is because i know that i would become reliant on my phone. as far as i am concerned, there is nothing so important that it cannot wait for me to get to my computer. and if it is important... anyone can call me. Eric Hartka

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  69. I think that in general people have lost the ability to communicate with others. The "outage" that RIM had to deal with for the blackberry models was nothing that caused great detriment to anyone. Most people forget that phones are made for calling and all the other things that they do are just a bonus. What I find most ridiculous, speaking as a smart phone user who doesn't have a blackberry or iPhone, it's not the end of the world if you can't check your email, post to facebook, update your twitter, or use the an App to help you find the nearest restaurant that the friend of your uncle's stepdaughter's boyfriend said was a good place to eat. The world worked just fine before all of these things became popular and weren't readily available at our fingertips.

    The blackberry outages mainly affected business people as they are the main users of the product. Companies generally rely on blackberry for business purposes because apple isn't very business friendly as it runs on a completely different operating system than windows. Moreover, the whole thought that the world was ending because people couldn't use their smartphones is just outlandish. The "outage" just goes to show that the world is entirely too reliant on technology.

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  70. I used to have a blackberry but upgraded to a droid, which is also a smartphone just a little more advanced. I wasn't affected by this blackberry problem but i do agree that people are relying on technology. Even when people in class forget their phone at home, they feel empty and almost lost. We are all so used to having everything at our fingertips, its not our fault, its just how our generation grew up. I love having the internet whenever i need it and pretty much wherever i need it and i admit, i feel a little empty without it sometimes too.

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